


Tricks and Treats under the Wyvern Moon

by princeofbirds



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Platonic Relationships, Slice of Life, headcanons about Adrestain Halloween, real found family hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27267109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeofbirds/pseuds/princeofbirds
Summary: The Wyvern Moon is a peculiar month. To much of the whole of Fódlan it was nothing special, with the Harvest Festival celebrated during the Horsebow Moon the arrival of the Wyvern Moon simply meant it was back to business as usual, but the same could not be said for those who resided in the Adrestian Empire. Festivities did not stop simply at the Harvest Festival, if anything they only increased, both in scale and intensity.---With class over and Hallows' Eve close at hand the various members of the Black Eagle house get into a lively discussion about the holiday. Eventually the idea of throwing their own Hallows' Eve celebration comes up, and while at first Edelgard is content to sit out on the festivities she finds that getting involved may be the only way of keeping everyone out of trouble.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez & Linhardt von Hevring, Dorothea Arnault & Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Bernadetta von Varley, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir & Lorenz Hellman Gloucester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Tricks and Treats under the Wyvern Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween! This has always been my favorite holiday ever since I was little, so I'm really excited to finally have written a fic where I just get to gush about it! Let's clear some things up before we get started:  
> 1\. Since there is no canon equivalent of Halloween in-game this is all shit I've made up, none of it is based in anything even remotely canon, so if one day FE Heroes has Halloween alts for Three Houses characters and they mention anything about Halloween that doesn't line up with this fic then I'm sorry but I remain unable to see into the future  
> 2\. This fic is mostly just going to be a lot of people talking and bantering, so if mundane character interaction/slice-of-life stuff isn't your thing you can just skip this one. I wrote this pretty selfishly for myself so no hard feelings if it doesn't jive with you  
> 3\. I started this fic before Halloween intending to release it sooner, but circumstances have led me to finishing it on the day of Halloween instead of before :v that's why it takes place before the holiday and not during, sorry!  
> 4\. I really struggled with how to tag this thing if that wasn't already obvious, so while I didn't lie about the relationships it should be mentioned that since everyone here is supposed to get a fair amount of screen time that means it's not really focused on individual relationships for very long. The main point is the group as a whole, but I felt like I had to add some relationship tags so people would actually see it  
> That's all, onto the fic now

The Wyvern Moon is a peculiar month. To much of the whole of Fódlan it was nothing special, with the Harvest Festival celebrated during the Horsebow Moon the arrival of the Wyvern Moon simply meant it was back to business as usual, but the same could not be said for those who resided in the Adrestian Empire. Festivities did not stop simply at the Harvest Festival, if anything they only increased, both in scale and intensity.

Fittingly enough the origins of the bizarre holiday remain mostly lost to time. Some speculate it came from a God pre-Adrestians used to worship long before the Goddess, a wrathful and prideful God who demanded those living under his rule worship him with festivities and decor resembling his frightful home in the underworld, the refusal to do so resulting in ruined crops and children stolen into the dreary night sky. Of course now there was no such thing, the deity in question replaced with a boogeyman of sorts. The general idea remained the same, festivities to keep the creature from harming crops and families, with games and candy to occupy it and everyone dressed in costume to fool the creature into thinking they were of it’s kind.

Edelgard could remember marveling at the way simple men made of straw and harmless pumpkins could be twisted; warped into something wicked and unrecognizable. Indeed, many of her fondest memories as a small child were spent simply raising hell with her many siblings, ghouls and fake spiders that dangled off cobwebs watching over them from the shadows. Many dark nights were spent telling ghost stories and eating candy while dressed up in ridiculous costumes.

That had all changed after she returned alone to the cold empty palace of her childhood. Ever since then the frightening images only served to unnerve her rather than spark any childlike wonder. In a way she was grateful the holiday hadn't caught on with the rest of Fódlan, it made the month at Garreg Mach easier to deal with. Mundane and bland, that would work just fine for her. If only everything could have been so simple.

She should have known better in retrospect. She was far from the only Adrestian roaming these halls, she shared an entire class full of her people in fact. The holiday was bound to rear its ugly head eventually.

The Black Eagles classroom had started relatively silent. Lessons had only just ended minutes prior, though some students still remained either to work on assignments or to catch up with friends.

Idle chatter prattered on from the front of the classroom courtesy of Ferdinand and Lorenz. The two nobles silently chatted casually about what kind of tea should be had during their next break, Mercedes beside them quietly reading her book. Edelgard herself was accompanied by Hubert and Lysithea on either side of her, all of them caught up in reviewing notes and putting together their work for the day.

In the row behind them sat Petra and Dorothea, the ladder helping the former in Fódlanese grammar exercises.

Lastly there was the back row, in it a slumbering Linhardt with Bernadetta at his side idly doodling something in her notebook.

It all started as most things involving Caspar did: loud.

“Got you again, Linhardt!” The booming laughter of her boisterous classmate echoes off the walls of the classroom. Linhardt sits up groggily, rubbing the back of his head. This was the second time this week Caspar had startled him, the sudden jolt of fear causing him to fall back from his seat and bang his head off the unforgiving stone floor. Poor Bernadetta had been caught up in the crossfire as well, letting out a meek ‘eep’ she had blindly fled to Hubert’s side, an irony that wasn’t lost on Edelgard as the scene continued. “Goddess sake, Caspar!” The exhausted boy whined. “We aren’t in the Empire anymore, can’t you give the jumpscares a break for just this one year?”

“What’s the fun in that? Scaring the flames out of you during Hallows' Eve is a time honored tradition, and I’m not about to let you off the hook any time soon!”

“It isn’t even Hallow’s Eve yet.” Linhardt sighs, dusting himself off as he picks himself off the ground. Hubert groans in annoyance at the commotion. “Now is hardly the time for your tomfoolery, Bergliez. Please do keep it down.” He spat, slaving away at his small pile of work as he did so. Despite his frustration he was mostly able to tune out the excuses that followed.

“I can’t help it! The Battle of the Eagle and Lion got me all pumped up and now that it’s over I’ve still got all this energy inside waiting to burst! Can you really blame me?”

“Yes.” Linhardt deadpans. Caspar bounces back incredulously, seeming offended at the very word. “What do you mean!?”

“I mean the mock battle was days ago! Just train if you truly have so much excess energy.”

“Doing that’ll defeat the whole point of Hallows' Eve! It’s my favorite, we can’t just let it go to waste!” He protests further, falling back into the seat behind him with a loud thud and an equally vocal humph.

Despite their racket the easy atmosphere of the classroom managed to persist. Professor Byleth allowed the students to resolve the madness themselves as she organized papers in her usual silence. The soft warm glow of the sun sweeping down the sky shone through the windows, bathing the room in a heavenly orange glow, and illuminating the gentle waltz of specks of dust. A feeling of ease settled inside Edelgard. It was serene, like living inside a nostalgic memory. It contrasted pleasantly against the familiar banter of her classmates. Part of her longed to join them, but some unknown feeling held her back for now. Instead she simply watched on when Ferdinand cleared his throat to speak up.

“I will admit, I do understand your excitement, Caspar. Hallows' Eve has always been one of my favorite times of the year as well. Oh, how I would beg my father to let me loose on the city and collect candy! Of course he rarely ever let me go, but I was allowed to wear my costume around the estate. I was very fond of dressing as a vampire.”

Mercedes giggles from her seat beside the ginger noble. “I know just what you mean! My younger brother and I loved Hallows’ Eve. We would spend hours carving pumpkins and making our own masks. I missed it dearly when I had to leave the Empire, there’s nothing like it at all in the Kingdom.”

"I c-could happily do without some parts of it." Bernadetta interjects, chewing nervously at the ends of her sleeve. She shivered as she remembered countless nights spent hiding away from as many people as she could, her reputation as the skittish scaredy-cat heir of Varley marking her as a prime target for nasty tricks. It wasn’t too unlike her current situation now that she thought of it. "The cute little creepy crawlies were nice, but my father always held a ball to celebrate, and I had to go to all of them. The other noble kids would always tease me, they even had competitions to see who could make me screech the loudest! It was so embarrassing..."

"I'm glad you were able to avoid having Caspar for a childhood friend. Ever since we were six he's been determined to make this holiday a living hell for me."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad! I knew when to tone it down. Like that one year when we had that accident with the fake blood, I never used any ever again after that!"

“Oh, an accident, was it? That isn’t quite how I remember it.” Linhardt shoots his friend a glare, still rubbing the back of his head absentmindedly. Caspar groans. “Ugh, Lin, we go through this every year. I promise it wasn’t on purpose! I didn’t mean to get any of it on you, I just wanted to look more scary!”

“I just don’t understand why you brought fake blood with you in the first place, you’ve always known how much I hate even just thinking of it.”

“I know, I know. Look, I’m sorry, alright? How much more candy do I need to give up to you before you forgive me?”

“Hmm.. How about one more piece of my favorite type of chocolate and we’ll call it even?”

“You always say that.” Linhardt shrugs at the statement, glare melting away as the hint of a mischievous grin crept onto his face instead. Caspar responds by sticking his tongue out playfully.

“If no one is minding my asking, what is ‘Hallows’ Eve’ like? I have remembrance of hearing about it, but I have never taken a part in such strange customs as dressing up and having demand for sweets.” Questions Petra, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and head tilted ever so slightly. The holiday her classmates spoke of sounded bizarre to say the least, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t sound a little fun. Dorothea lights up almost immediately. “You’ve never celebrated Hallows’ Eve before? I’m sure you’d love it, Petra! In fact, we should throw our own celebration just for you! I can help sew you a costume and even make treats.”

“That is sounding like much fun, but I am not sure you taking charge of the kitchen will be a good idea.”

“Ah, I suppose the whole ‘atrocious at cooking’ thing might be a bit of a roadblock..” The songstress looks down dejectedly. Luckily for her it wasn’t long before the ever helpful Mercedes piped in with a suggestion of her own. “If you need help making sweets I wouldn’t mind joining you. Candy would be too difficult, but baking something wouldn’t be much trouble at all, and we can use my sewing kit for the costumes.”

"What an excellent suggestion!" Ferdinand rises excitedly from his seat. "I can assist in the kitchen as well, I have been practicing baking ever since I made my first batch of cookies. That is if you two do not mind, of course."

"Of course I don’t, Ferdinand, baking with you sounds like fun."

"I'll admit your cookies weren’t half bad. It's settled then, Ferdie will handle the sweets, and Mercy and I will sew the costumes!" Dorothea states matter of factly. Ferdinand's face falls in uncertainty before shaking it away to rebuild his previous confidence. "O-oh, well, of course I can handle the baking on my own! Just leave everything to me." Lorenz tsks at the display, taking pity on his friend. Despite his urge to keep quiet and avoid getting involved, his noble code required him to help all in need, even if it meant possible embarrassment in the near future. "Dearest Ferdinand, you needn't say a word, I shall assist you in their stead."

"Truly, Lorenz? I assumed you would not care for baking."

"It's not something I've much experience in admittedly, but if it is to help a dear friend then it shall be no trouble at all. How hard can it possibly be?"

Lysithea perks up then, looking appalled at her fellow Leicester noble. "Don't be stupid, Lorenz! You can't just walk blindly into making sweets and expect them to turn out good!" She scolds. She stands up then in determination, her arms crossed and head tilted up proudly. "You'll obviously need me there to test them." She emphasises her statement with a triumphant nod.

Linhardt lazily nods in return. "That's a good excuse. You're growing into an impeccable liar, Lysithea."

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about! I only want to watch over them so they don't mess everything up, you should be thanking me!"

“Oh, I have no doubts that situation is going to end horribly. Try and save me one of the good ones if there are any.” Lysithea’s face flushes as she grits her teeth and tightens her hold on her arms. Edelgard chuckles lightly to herself knowing how much the young girl would hate it if she were told how cute she looked in the moment. Her laughter catches the attention of Bernadetta who gazes at her, shy but hopeful. “Um, Edelgard? You like Hallows' Eve too, right?”

“Hm? What gave you that idea?”

“Oh! Uhh, n-nothing! Actually just forget I asked-”

“Relax, Bernadetta. It was only a simple question.” Edelgard sighs. Rather than linger on the awkward moment any longer she instead opts to search for a way to express her feelings on the holiday. “I would say I am indifferent to it overall, though I do think it’s wonderful you all wish to find a way to celebrate, I understand how exciting it can be.”

“So you will join us, right?” The timid girl asks. Edelgard resists the urge to reject the invitation immediately, taking a moment to honestly think it over. It was true that she hadn’t cared for the holiday in a very long time, but she did care for her classmates despite herself.

She imagined laughing among them as they cautiously tried the baked goods Ferdinand and Lorenz slaved over. Since Lysithea would be there to taste test them they shouldn’t be all bad. The combined effort of Dorothea and Mercedes’ craftsmanship would mean everyone would be dressed in beautiful costumes, briefly she wondered what they’d have her dress up as. Petra was sure to have a good time even if some of it flew over her head, while Caspar would likely be out terrorizing poor Linhardt and Bernadetta the whole night. Perhaps having Hubert there to keep an eye on him would help? 

Much as she loved the thought of it all, in the end she ultimately shakes her head. “I think it’d be for the best if I didn’t. I have a lot of work to take care of, but perhaps Hubert can join you.” The dark mage in question hums. “Unfortunately I must decline. I share much the same opinion of the holiday as you, Lady Edelgard, though I suppose I would be lying if I said it’s rather morbid nature didn’t fascinate me.”

Bernadetta looks away, twiddling her fingers. “Oh, I see.” She looks disappointed, and the rest of their peers don’t look much happier. Embarrassed as she was to admit, the thought of everyone being disappointed by her absence never really crossed her mind before now. “I have sadness that you both will not be attending.” Petra admits. “It will not have sameness- er, it will not be the same without you.”

Caspar in his ever stubborn nature calls over to them, waving around what appears to be a book. "You and Hubert have to join, Edelgard! Bernadetta's even already drawn costumes!" He shouts excitedly.

"No! No! Don't look at that!" Bernadetta shreeks, speeding to the other side of the room to snatch her notebook out of Caspar's hand. Once it's back in her clutches she quickly huddles it protectively to herself as if hiding it from sight will erase the boy's memory of it's pages. "You can't just look at books that don't belong to you! No one was ever supposed to see this!"

"Then why leave it out in the open in the first place?"

Dorothea speaks up. "Well, in her defense you did scare her off before she had a chance to put it away."

"Oh, right.." He laughs nervously before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. “Still, you guys can’t just skip out! We’re a team, that means we’ve all gotta be there!”

Edelgard looks at him slightly embarrassed. “I think that might be taking things a bit too far. It’s only a small gathering.” She tries to reason, but it only works up Caspar more. “Exactly! Maybe if it was a grand ball or something it wouldn’t matter, but it’s just us here, that’ll make you not being there stand out even more!”

“I guess I see your point. Though if you’re hoping to host it in here then I hope you realize you’ll need to ask the professor’s permission first.”

Byleth finally looks up at her students at the mention of her. They stare back in anticipation. "Just don't make a mess." She says. Sighs of relief ring out at her agreement. For just a moment all is well, but then her normally neutral expression slowly shifts into confusion. "Wait.. when is this holiday of yours exactly?"

Edelgard raises an eyebrow. "The 31st. Why?"

"You're all aware today is the 30th, right?"

Uncanny silence suffocates the room once the question leaves their professor's mouth. Everyone glances at each other, uncertain what exactly they should do. Ferdinand then bravely takes it upon himself to get everyone moving. Grabbing Lorenz he hurries them both out the room. "Quickly, Lorenz, to the kitchen! We must begin practicing now if we are to bake enough confections for the entire class!" Lysithea follows close behind. "Oh no you don't! I won't let you butcher a single one of those treats on my watch!"

Dorothea looks to Mercedes in a panic. "Mercy, you know where that sewing kit of your's is, right?"

"Yes, but we'll need to go into town first, I don't think we nearly have enough fabric for everyone!"

"You're right. Bernadetta! Follow us! We're going to use those outfits you drew for reference!"

"Huh!? B-but why mine!?"

"No time for questions, we have to move!" Dorothea doesn't hesitate pushing the stuttering girl forward. As they leave Caspar pulls on Linhardt's sleeve, intending to drag him along to wherever it was he thought he was going. "C'mon, Lin, we gotta help out too!"

"What? Now hold on a moment, I never said I'd do anything."

"Someone's gotta set up the decorations, don't they? You have a better eye for that kind of stuff than me, so let's get going already!" Petra runs after them on their way out, drowning out all of Linhardt’s passive complaints. "Oh! I will be helping in the decorating too! What is the custom for this holiday again?"

With almost everyone gone, silence once again returns to the room. It was comfortable this time around, and Edelgard didn’t mind basking in it while it lasted. Knowing her classmates, it wasn’t sure to last long.

"My, everyone's certainly worked themselves up, haven't they?" Hubert remarks, smirking.

"It would seem so. Come along then, Hubert, we'll take shifts keeping an eye on them so no one gets themselves killed."

"Then we'll be attending after all I'm assuming?"

"Seems like it. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll survive." Sure enough, not far from the classroom's entrance they can already hear the start of a loud commotion coming from outside. Something about a fire and sewing needles scattered all over the floor? Edelgard and Hubert share a worried glance at each other before rushing out the door, leaving the professor alone in the room at last. She smiles to herself.

It'd be a miracle if this didn't all end in disaster, but her students were nothing if not determined. It would all certainly work out in the end... hopefully.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted so badly to add Constance to this fic but I just couldn't find a way to sneak her in and I apologize greatly for that.


End file.
